The season of gigs for music bands across the country is on. Considering that it’s one where bands spend more time travelling than performing Daira, a progressive rock-group from Mumbai, is no different. The name of this 16-month old band signifies the capacity of an individual.
The group of eight members were at Inorbit, Hyderabad for a performance on Sunday where it performed some of their popular tracks — a jazz version of ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’, the rock version of ‘Yeh Kaali Kaali Aankhein’ and more from what they’d composed for the earlier season of Music Mojo.
What’s the first thing they do after reaching to a new destination (the recent ones include Shirpur, Durg, Varanasi, Bhilai)? Govind Gowli, the man who plays the bass says, “That’s the only time we get to sleep. Most times, we are either travelling or performing. Of course, we do take a few hours to explore the place, get to know the ideas of the residents there and what they feel about music.”
Vikalp Sharma, the vocalist-turned-guitarist adds, “We plan most of our songs travelling together. Despite the gruelling schedules, we’re always excited to travel, meet a new bunch of people and earn new friends as we return.”
Each place they go, Daira keeps its style intact but makes it a point to give a local spin to the performance with a track that represents that region or is popular there. “We don’t plan these things . We believe in spontaneity and do enough research on the famous songs in the places we perform,” Govind states, who wished he had more time to visit the historical sites in Hyderabad.
Daira members are quite sensitive to the creative conflicts that could spring up as they make music. “We know the need to build a common ground when such situations occur. As musicians, we make it a point to be open-minded while creating something. That’s one reason we don’t shy away from experimenting right at the last minute, even when we are on a jamming session right before a concert. Say, a guy starts playing something new, we’re game to try new things,” reveals Pratik Kulgod, the drummer in the band, sounding an optimistic note.
Professionally too, they are full-time musicians, who earlier took up several professions in an attempt to bring their act together. But, the need for self-satisfaction haunted them, veering them away from regular jobs. They were determined to go ahead and make opportunities happen. Now an album old, and working on their second, they are making their presence felt on platforms like MTV, Pepsi Unbox and Music Mojo.
